We thought we’d share another seven of our favorite reads with you, this time featuring novels and novellas with a thread of organization running through them. Organized crime, that is. With mobsters, drug dealers, cartels, and gangsters galore, there’s something we really love about this type of fiction and, given the selection, we think you will too. So, let us just drop a quick disclaimer here, and then we’ll get on to this list of must read books running the gamut from crime to horror and all points in between. The disclaimer: we are aware that this is pretty much a sausage fest and would like to point out that isn’t intentional. We love women authors as much as any other and would never seek to exclude or denigrate their work. This list merely reflects the favorites we’ve read in genre fiction that fit the theme we’re embracing here today…

Summer is coming to a close, and we’re getting geared up for a new section of Monstrous Women with Introductions starting the last week of August. There are currently only three seats left for the Tuesday night section of this workshop. Classes run through the first week of December and will be held from 6-8:30 pm MST (5-7:30 pm PST/ 7-9:30 pm CST/ 8-10:30 EST/ 10 am-12:30 pm Wednesday AEST).

Over the course of 14 weeks, participants will write five short stories based on the following themes: The Shifting Shapes of Animal Brides, The Seductive Allure of the Femme Fatale, Weeping Women and Tearful Prophecies, The Female Descent into Hysteria and Madness, Mayhem in Numbers and the Sacred Three. Participants will also have the opportunity to workshop a selection of revised stories during portfolio sessions, which are held the last two weeks of class.

In addition to the workshop materials…